The more I read and research, the more uneasy I become with the dangers that lurk in our (seemingly) healthiest food sources… especially where our kids are concerned.
I’ve talked about produce, the “dirty dozen” and the “clean 15”, and shared what I’ve learned about organic vs. non-organic milk, but what does it all really mean? Well, it means A LOT when it comes to our children… even more than I originally realized.
We know that pesticides are used in farming to protect crops from damage. We also know that pesticides can contribute to cancer, lung disease and reproductive problems, but our little ones (especially) are being put at risk.
Consider these three important facts:
- Research has shown that pesticides can also change brain chemistry, leading to behavioral disorders and learning disabilities, as well as nervous system damage.
- Children absorb pesticides more easily and their bodies have a harder time breaking them down.
- Pesticides can actually block the absorption of nutrients (so while you’re forcing down the broccoli, the nutrients aren’t getting through).
Those three things are reason enough for concern. So what do we do? Well, consider these actions:
- buy organic for the high-risk produce and anything your child consumes a lot of.
- soak, scrub and/or peel the other produce to decrease the pesticides.
- buy local – produce that requires lengthy transportation to reach the markets often have POST-harvest pesticides added too!
- purchase fruits and veggies in season – if they’re not, they often come from another hemisphere and will contain even MORE pesticides.
- eat a variety of fruits & veggies to avoid excessive consumption of the same pesticides.
There are days when I would like to put our kids in a plastic bubble to protect them (but then, of course, the plastic from the bubble would be bad for the environment!) so I just need to use what I know, put it into everyday actions and protect those precious little bodies.